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Palestinian
Factions Declare ‘Open War’ Against Israel
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ý“The assassination of Sheikh Yassin will break the doors of hell loose,” said ýAbu Haniya
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By
Moatesem al-Miniawi, IOL Correspondent
GAZA
CITY, March 22 (IslamOnline.net) – Palestinian resistance factions
declared Monday, March 22, an “open” war against the Israeli
occupation following the assassination
of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, vowing to target
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and key officials of his
government.
“War
is now open with Israel,” senior Hamas political leader Abdul Aziz
Al-Rantissi told Al-Arabiya satellite channel.
Sheikh
Yassin was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike after performing the
dawn prayers.
The
Israeli public radio said Sharon gave the green light to the
assassination and personally supervised it.
“They
know it's opened, there will be no revenge, it's an open war,”
Rantissi said in English in a Gaza street to a background of chants
from thousands of Palestinians demanding revenge.
“The
assassination of Sheikh Yassin will break the doors of hell loose,”
Ismail Abu Haniya, another leading figure of Hamas, told
IslamOnline.net.
“Sheikh
Yassin lived for Palestine and Al-Quds and always prayed for
martyrdom,” he said, with tears in his eyes.
Revenge
Hamas
military wing vowed to kill hundreds of Israelis in “earthquake-like
revenge” following the assassination of Sheikh Yassin.
“Those
who have taken the decision to kill Sheikh Yassin signed the death
warrant for hundreds of Zionists,” Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said
in a statement received by IOL.
Fatah
military wing also pledged an unprecedented response to the
assassination “within the coming few hours”.
“The
head of our hit list is Sharon himself and his henchmen” said Abu
Qusayee, a leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The
group said “thousands” of Israelis would be targeted in
retaliation, naming Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as its prime target.
It
exhorted all Palestinian resistance factions to "proclaim a
relentless war against the Zionist entity”.
“We
promise the Palestinian people that we will avenge the assassinations
of the Nazi terrorists," read the statement.
“The
heinous crime is considered a rebirth of the Palestinian Intifada
against occupation,” said Hussein Al-Sheikh, a Fatah leader, warning
the response would be “shuddering with earthquake-like effect”.
He
stressed that Israel’s assassination of crippled Sheikh Yassin
“would force the region into a new cycle of violence and bloodshed
that has not ever witnessed.”
The
Fatah official denied the assassination would put an end to the
Palestinian resistance against Israel.
“It
is a message with political regional and international implications,
on top of which that resistance is the option for Palestinians,” he
averred.
‘Grave
Escalation’
The
Islamic Jihad movement also vowed that the move would “break the
door of conflict and escalation loose”.
“This
criminal action shows the true intentions of Israel, which we well
realize. We predict a grave escalation after this,” Khedr Habib, a
leader of the Islamic Jihad, told IOL.
Asserting
deceased Sheikh Yassin was “not an ordinary person,” Habib said
the assassination marked a new turn for the region as well as the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
“Therefore,
there are no chances for appeasement,” he said.
Al-Quds
Brigades, the Islamic Jihad armed wing, said Israel would pay a dear
price for the assassination.
The
group called on all of its members every where to stay on alert and
hit all Israeli targets.
‘Strong
Boost’
The
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) described the
assassination of Sheikh Yassin as a “strong boost” to resistance
operations against Israel.
The
Islamic Movement inside Israel also denounced the crime, accusing
Sharon of “tampering with Israelis’ security”.
“Sharon
had opened a door he would not be able to shut down later,” said
Kamal Ghateib, the movement deputy leader.
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